Legislature ’07: Sonics’ last gasp

OLYMPIA – Monday marks the likely resolution of the question has been kicking around Olympia since the session began – Will Chris McGann have a job this summer? And thank God Almighty it looks like I will!

But I’m just kidding about that being the question. The question people have really been wondering about is if the Legislature would authorize a public subsidy for a new arena for the Sonics in Renton.
This afternoon, we’ll have an answer. And it’s probably going to be: “No.”

The governor and leaders from the four legislative caucuses have a meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon. They want to resolve it now so they can put the finishing touches on the ’07 session and get out of here by the end of the week.

If you’ve followed the issue, you’ll know that the real hurdle is in the House. Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, has been pushing for the deal but House Speaker Frank Chopp hates the idea.

So today, the hard vote counts begin and the leaders are going to find out if there is enough support in the House to pass the bill.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said that she’s organizing the count with the understanding that if enough people what the bill, Chopp would bring it to a floor vote. That said, she wasn’t optimistic.

For one, the current proposal leaves the decision about whether or not the voters have the final say in King County’s hands. Though a majority on the Council have said that they would not pass the new taxes without a public vote, Kessler said she and other members are uneasy about handing over that authority.

Not only are there few House Democrats who support the plan, there is a large and vocal group within the caucus who hate it.

So it boils down to Republican support. No doubt the only way the bill could pass out of the House is with a good measure of GOP votes. I just checked – insiders on the Republican side of the aisle say that the number of people who want the bill is in single digits…low single digits.

That’s essentially the death of the bill – but I’ll be there this afternoon to give you the final skinny – and I’ll be in a good mood because I have a job!